The “Lady in Black’ is bringing back the old school of NASCAR on Sunday as the Cup Series hits the 1.366 mile circuit. Some of the favorites heading into the weekend qualified near the front, and Bleacher Brothers has a good feeling about some easy money to be made.
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Outright Winner Best Bets
William Byron (+550)
Byron has been the top performer in the next-gen at Darlington, and put his Jeff Gordon throwback scheme on the pole for Sunday’s race. The back-to-back Daytona 500 champion has put together strong performances at the “track too tough to tame” and will look to do that again. The fastest car in qualifying can easily keep his speed up in clean air as well.
Denny Hamlin (+800)
Last week’s race winner could make it a back-to-back trip to victory lane. Hamlin has led 12.9% of all laps ran at Darlington since 2022, and has three top-ten finishes. While he is still winless since NASCAR started racing the next-gen, the 55-time race winner has four wins at Darlington.
Ryan Preece (+1800)
Last season RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski took home the win which ended a three year drought. This time around Ryan Preece put on a dominant performance in practice and qualifying, putting his #60 Mustang on the front row. In 20, 25, and 30 lap averages Preece was second throughout practice, and has shown he has the speed to be a winner.
Top Five Finishers
Joey Logano (+285)
The reigning champ finally earned a top-ten finish last weekend, and momentum typically bodes well in racing. The 22 has the second best average finish at the track in the next-gen, and will be looking to keep those numbers up. Although he starts 18th on Sunday, expect a good run out of the Connecticut native.
Bubba Wallace (+285)
Statistically speaking, Wallace has bettered himself every year. The #23 driver has four top-ten finishes at Darlington and could easily find himself in the top-five with the speed he put up during qualifying and practice. During 20-30 lap runs, the 23XI driver was averaging around 7th in lap times in his Camry. +285 is a longer shot, but great value nonetheless for a man who has has back-to-back top three finishes.
Kyle Busch (+190)
So far this season, Busch has only one top-five finish. The good news for the RCR driver though was his performance during practice. Busch claimed the eighth starting spot, and was the second fastest Chevrolet during qualifying. Busch was also top-three in 25 and 30 lap averages during practice, showing he has the speed to make some late runs if needed.
Driver Props
Ryan Blaney (-140) vs Denny Hamlin (+105)
Riding with Denny Hamlin on this one. While Ryan Blaney has dominated at certain tracks this season, Denny Hamlin seems to have the better car. Based off of speed, career record, and stats from the weekend, this should be all Hamlin.
Joey Logano (+280) Winning Group Three
It’s another Logano pick, but really the group could be anyone’s. Logano will face-off against Josh Berry, Chase Elliott, and Chase Briscoe. The Chases will be the hardest to beat, but Logano’s Ford and record at Darlington is the difference maker.